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Earth day on college campuses.

The story is that April 22 was chosen because college students would be likely to be available. It falls between spring break and final exams. Which would go along with Gaylord Nelson’s idea that environmental progress could occur with student voices, as it did with the Vietnam protests. Today in 2012, the student voices and events are still the backbone to Earth Day. Universities and education groups are pushing for an Earth Week, vs. only an Earth Day. One event is not enough, one day isn’t enough, and so now a weeklong celebration on college campuses has become the norm. College campuses come up with innovative programs and ideas to celebrate. See this video of Western Kentucky Universities 2011 festivities:

These students made a remix to the song “Friday” and incorporated things that we could do to become more earth conscious:

The following is what the schools in the Kentucky/Cincinnati area have planned:

NKU: At NKU they are celebrating Mother Earth April 16-20 ECOS (Environmentally Concerned Organization of Students) has informational events planned a long with the planting of trees, listen to music and learning what you can do to reduce your own and NKU’s carbon footprint.

UC: The University of Cincinnati sponsors a clothing swap, a lecture and film series of environmental topics, and a workshop series where one can learn how to grow vegetables in a container at your home, and is even taking a tour of the Rumpke facilities.

Xavier:At Xavier one can rent a bike to go to classes for $10, attend a session with a locavore speaker (one who commits to eating food grown or produced locally), and participate in a Recyclemania competition.

UK: University of Kentucky hosts “Car free day and “Party for the Planet” to allow the campus to promote sustainability, responsible global citizenship and the power of local action.

UL: The University of Louisville will host a sustainability fair and a Park Clean up this year among other Earth Day events.

We should pay attention to how college campuses celebrate Earth Week and borrow some of their innovative events and energetic spirit for preserving the Earth. If organizations celebrated Earth Week, it can create a more cohesive working environment and provide a cause that anyone can participate in. Coming together to make a difference benefits a campus community and can do the same for other groups and organizations.